Fort Dorchester scored early in both halves and controlled possession most of the way Tuesday to hand the Bluffton High girls soccer team a second consecutive SCHSL Region 8-AAAA loss.

Bluffton was missing a pair of players up the middle and the Patriots capitalized on that weakness in the midfield for a 3-1 victory at Bobcat Stadium.

“We lost that game, I think, in the midfield,” Bluffton coach Mike Manning said. “They had a couple play makers that we didn’t do a good enough job defending and they controlled us.”

The Bobcats (1-5-1, 0-2 region) played without junior center midfielder Jordan Franklin and freshman center back Kaelyn Binns, who were out with injuries. Manning said Binns was hurt in a game over the weekend and should miss about a week. He was not sure when Franklin will return.

Fort Dorchester (4-5, 2-2) needed only 11 minutes to score its first goal.

The Patriots got a free kick from just outside the box. Bluffton deflected the initial kick and freshman goalkeeper Emily Pelletier saved a shot off the deflection. But the ball bounced off her hands and the Patriots scored off the rebound.

Bluffton’s Amanda Rainboth tied it up with about 13 minutes left in the first half, with an assist from junior Kativa Stout.

“I was up on the back defense line and Kativa just did a through-ball and I cut around it,” said Rainboth, a senior. “The goalie was coming out and I just kind of knocked it around her.”

But the Patriots managed to score on a shot from about 40 yards out after Rainboth scored and kept Bluffton from getting many quality looks at the goal in the second half.

Fort Dorchester made it 3-1 about 30 seconds after halftime, scoring off a corner kick. Manning said that play essentially sealed it.

The Bobcats will visit Beaufort for another region game at 7 p.m. Friday.

“The first five to seven minutes of the second half, they came out with better energy,” Manning said of Fort Dorchester. “That corner kick goal kind of cemented the deal.”